The U.S. World Cup team is full of players who play overseas- but then play for the U.S. for the Cup.

Immigration FROM the U.S. to other countries is no where near the level of immigration to the U.S. from other countries- so I'm not sure how many 3rd generation Italians, Brazilians, etc. there are that have their original roots in the U.S.

There are players with strong US ties who have unfortunately chosen to play for other countries, as seen with Nevan Subotic or Giuseppe Rossi. But that's not quite the same thing. And FIFA rules are stricter than whatever rules there seem to be for the WBC.

Is Puerto Rico a state? Because if it isn't then they're not as closely tied to the US as Aruba, Cucacao, and Sint Maarten are to the KotN.

Puerto Rico is still considered a territory but in a recent non-binding referendum something like 61% of respondents said they wanted to become a state. What I want to know is IF Puerto Rico becomes a state, can they still field their own team for the WBC? Isn't that like having a New Jersey team?

Andy ****ing Gonzalez hits a hanging 0-2 curve to drive in two more runs after the US walks in another one. Puerto Rico leads by 4, Torre's decision to pull Vogelsong backfires. Torre has looked pretty bad during this

Puerto Rico is still considered a territory but in a recent non-binding referendum something like 61% of respondents said they wanted to become a state. What I want to know is IF Puerto Rico becomes a state, can they still field their own team for the WBC? Isn't that like having a New Jersey team?

Sure they could. In soccer and in rugby for that matter, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales compete separately. In the Olympics, they compete as one. It just depends on the rules of the governing body. It seems MLB, or whomever oversees the WBC, has rather lax rules when it's comes which to nationality.

"Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform — and even just to see, close up, power and aggression made vulnerable to beauty is to feel inspired and (in a fleeting, mortal way) reconciled."
--David Foster Wallace, () "Roger Federer as Religious Experience"

In the long run the US continually losing might be what it takes to motivate the elite players into participating.

If seeing your country continually fail isn't motivation for you to get out there and help, then I don't know what to say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

Amsteel:

I disagree. This is a made up tournament that means absolutely nothing. What the USA does or does not do is meaningless to what elite players play for...a chance to get to the World Series.

Lip

I agree with Lip, I just don't think American players really give a damn about this tournament and I think the managers of the American team have consistently treated it like an extension of spring training. I think it is a VERY big deal for almost everyone else though.

This tournament is a really good idea but it has some kinks that need to be worked out. I hope it does well and eventually reaches the point where the best players from each country WANT to play in this tournament and you can do away with that pitch count rule and maybe move it out of the middle of March when players aren't ready yet.

I agree with Lip, I just don't think American players really give a damn about this tournament and I think the managers of the American team have consistently treated it like an extension of spring training. I think it is a VERY big deal for almost everyone else though.

This tournament is a really good idea but it has some kinks that need to be worked out. I hope it does well and eventually reaches the point where the best players from each country WANT to play in this tournament and you can do away with that pitch count rule and maybe move it out of the middle of March when players aren't ready yet.

I think it's a great tournament and great for the future of baseball. Of course, there needs to be some tweaking. From a fan's perspective, the quality of baseball is exponentially better than Cactus or Grapefruit League baseball. You can tell from the faces of the players running in the outfield while spring grames are in progress that the exhibition games don't mean anything to the players.